Dental emergencies can be super scary. A sudden injury to your tooth causing severe unbearable pain, or a swelling that just does not seem to go down. Dental emergencies are unexpected tooth and gum issues that require immediate intervention from a dentist. Or they grow into something more serious. Learn about the most common dental emergencies, how to identify and handle them to the best of your ability, before inevitably visiting your dentist.
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Severe tooth pain
Severe toothache radiating to your ear and sometimes temple region is a major issue. The pain is throbbing and will not let you eat or speak. This pain might be due to a decayed tooth, or a fractured or mobile tooth. In such cases, over the counter painkillers like diclofenac and paracetamol can offer a temporary relief. You can also try a salt water rinse to get rid of any food substances stuck to the tooth which are aggravating the toothache. Remember that these provide only a temporary relief and that you must and should visit the dentist for the underlying issue to be treated. Avoid relying too much on home remedies like clove and local balms as they might in turn cause swelling. -
Swelling or abscess
An untreated dental or gum condition might result in a localised swelling. The swelling might be inside the mouth or outside the mouth, showing externally on the face. If this swelling is due to bacterial origin and is filled with pus, there might be a severe risk of sepsis or bacterial attack to the rest of the body. We advise you to visit your dentist as soon as possible. You can try applying a cold press to the swelling from the outside of your face for temporary relief. Salt water and betadine rinses can also help as a temporary antibiotic. -
Lost tooth
This is more common in children on the playground. Sometimes the whole tooth can come out of its socket. In such cases, you can actually store the tooth in solutions like - milk, saliva or saline and carry it to the dentist as soon as you can. Remember not to rub at the tooth as we need its surrounding structures to stay intact if we are attempting to replace the same tooth. -
Chipped off tooth
Sometimes a piece of your tooth might get broken. Understand that 1. If the chip is tiny and you face no pain, it can be filled easily. But if the fracture is severe then the nerve part of your tooth will be exposed and you will feel sharp pain even when the air touches the tooth. This might require an emergency root canal and crown at the dentists’. -
Soft tissue or gum injury
You were eating something and a sharp piece of the food has pierced your gums. There is a lot of pain and bleeding around that region. What you can do here is 1, rinse well with betadine and try to get the foreign object off. 2, Take a piece of cotton or gauze, put some betadine on it and press it on the area of injury for a few minutes. This will stop the bleeding. Avoid poking at the gums with your fingers or attempting to remove it with a sharper object.
Apart from these there are other issues like a lost crown or a filling, a fractured back tooth and more. Understand that dental emergencies cannot be attempted to ‘cure’ at home. Yes the initial first aid is good but always reach out to your dentist. Call us now.
